This Is Us Review: Forty: Part 1 / Forty: Part 2 (Season 5 Episodes 1 and 2)

Somehow This Is Us has managed to make this 2-hour premiere feel like one big homecoming for viewers — an incredible feat when you consider most of us haven’t left our homes in months.

This Is Us Season 5 Episodes 1 and 2, “Forty: Part 1,” and “Forty: Part 2,” is the loaded spectacle of television we desperately need.

As it turns out the best way to tackle a world in absolute chaos is to meet it head-on with the same level of organized chaos. Yes, it’s shocking to realize Jack Pearson talking in soothing tones for two hours isn’t nearly as therapeutic as the Pearsons acknowledging just how insane the world has become since Kevin knocked Madison up.

This series doesn’t provide answers because, like us, the Pearsons are still trying to find the words. But somehow someway This Is Us finds a way to reassure us that this pain is not forever — but good TV? You never can keep a good TV show down for long.

We can’t talk about this premiere without acknowledging its choice to bring the pandemic to the foreground of this episode almost immediately.

It’s a move I still have a difficult time digesting. On the one hand, the fine art of urgency and delicacy for which this episode moves through the events of the virus is to be admired. This Is Us understands this collective trauma we are experiencing has to be handled with care, and with efficiency.

That said, we are still very much living in this world the show depicts and there’s a deep desire to move past these events just as television is urging us to begin wallowing in them. Regardless of how good some of these actors look in a mask, there’s something about watching the Pearsons find out Tom Hanks has the virus that makes me want to bolt from the room entirely.

At the end of the day, I can understand the necessity of the story This Is Us is attempting to tell, but that doesn’t mean I’m completely comfortable watching it. Not even a perfectly crafted episode can change the fact that some of us aren’t ready to embrace this new world through the same outlets we use to escape reality.

I do believe a respect for the audience and a desire to once again connect with us on a deeper level allows This Is Us to succeed at coming off sincere in its portrayal of such a painful topic when so many shows will go on to fail this season.

This Is Us takes a similar approach to the Black Lives Matter protests, but in exploring the most recent and horrific police brutality incidents the series demands an acknowledgment from its audience that this discussion needs to be uncomfortable.

Randall’s conversation with Kate is tough. But it’s also a potent reminder for all of us who think this behaviour starts and ends with the pandemic — that our desire to stand up for this injustice should start and end with one video.

It’s the one time this episode refuses to comfort us or tiptoe through the subject matter, and I respect that blunt honesty immensely.

This season’s journey for Randall will be no doubt topical, but it will also lead him to some interesting places.

For instance, in the weirdest of dad meet cutes Malik and Randall manage to find common ground through a truly sombre and stellar discussion of the injustices they continue to witness as fathers of black children. It’s a standout moment for the two actors as Randall ditches the jokes to communicate with Malik as an equal.

This episode really does throw caution to the wind when it comes to character combinations, and I couldn’t be more excited to see where this new rebellious streak takes This Is Us.

Kevin and Madison are particularly fun to watch as they struggle to define their relationship status. Kevin choosing to announce he’s knocked Maidson up by having her exit the car onto the lawn is Bachelorette levels of extra.

I’m still not sold on their relationship but I’m just as happy as Kevin to be along for the ride.

Even better, Toby and Miguel (two members of the OG group chat) share a rare moment while the Big Three deal with another existential crisis. They could talk about anything but instead, they choose to talk about how incredible One Day at a Time is — which, how can we not relate!

When Toby utters the words, “One Day at a Time, an excellent tv show and a terrible answer to my question,” and Miguel audibly fangirls in response, we instantly know we need more of these two together if this show is ever going to reach its full potential.

I will say the very ambition we praise This Is Us for during this premiere could become an issue down the line.

This two-hour premiere covers a lot of ground, especially in that first hour. It can be overwhelming. And with content this good being thrown at us from every direction, I would love for This Is Us to slow down and savour the moment a little more — if not for the sake of our own sanity.

This is especially true when it comes to Jack Pearson, who is still very much a pillar of this show’s story despite his untimely death seasons ago.

The near-misses between Jack and William are once again a cool premise to play with, as are the moments in between the Big Three’s birth that we have yet to see.

But the relationship with Jack’s father is one of the storylines that feel out of place amongst all the other chaos. In fact, the switch to a young Jack praying at the altar next to his father is so jarring it almost takes us completely out of the scene.

There’s no denying Rebecca and Jack still got it though.

The iconic couple spends most of this episode apart, which is perfectly okay because after five seasons both characters have carved out their own individual roles in the past and present that are equally as important.

Milo Ventimiglia comes in clutch once again as comfort dad Jack Pearson. He adorably packs up the entire house for Rebecca to take with her to the hospital and then still manages to forget the radio. 

He somehow manages to sneak in one of the most chilling performances of the series with a stolen moment at the hospital’s church altar that still has me shaking. Jack begging, and then practically threatening God not to take Rebecca from the world is enough. But this show insist on going for the low hanging fruit and having Jack beg God to take him instead — something I might never get over.

And then Mandy Moore enters with a reeling performance as our ageing Rebecca, who is struggling to understand what is happening to her as she drifts farther away from the strong rock of a mother figure we were just getting to know.

Few shows have a strong grasp on their winning formula this late into the game but This Is Us isn’t most shows.

The series somehow juggles a dozen character arcs, the worst of humanity’s struggles, and Kevin’s weird obsession with Chris Evans. All while setting up for a shocking twist that once again threatens to upend everything we know about the Pearsons and send us into a season-long spiral.

This Is Us always knows what to say to make the world a little less horrible, and we could really use a little less horrible these days. We could also use some good TV, and this series delivers on that in spades.

What did you think of this episode of This Is Us? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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This Is Us airs Tuesdays at 9/8c on NBC.

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